In the last 24 hours, we’ve seen Trump drop an online ad accusing Bill Clinton of being a rapist, as Hillary Clinton cackles in the background. Last night, the presumptive GOP nominee revived the ugly and utterly debunked right-wing conspiracy theory that the Clintons killed their friend Vince Foster, who committed suicide in 1994.

Meanwhile, Trump’s buddy, dirty trickster Roger Stone, says he’s coordinating a campaign by Clinton’s accusers to trash the former president and accuse his wife of abetting their mistreatment. In February, Media Matters has discovered, Stone disclosed that Trump contributed to a fund for Clinton accuser Kathleen Willey—featured in the video ad—“so she can hit the road and start speaking out on Hillary.” Willey’s voice is featured in the online ad Trump released Monday.

Promoting a fund to save Willey from foreclosure on her home, Stone told Alex Jones, “Trump is himself a contributor—I’m not ready to disclose what he has given.”

Since Stone is a professional liar, we should probably be careful about taking everything he says at face value. But it’s already true that the Trump campaign is relying on reviving mostly debunked charges against Bill Clinton from the 1990s to bring down his wife in 2016.

There’s so much wrong with this scenario, starting with the misogyny that inspires the belief that the first female presidential nominee ought to both shamed by and held responsible for her husband’s real and fabricated misbehavior. Then there’s the problem that only one of the two likely nominees has been accused of rape—and that’s Trump himself, by his ex-wife Ivana in a sworn deposition during their ugly divorce (she later recanted the charge of rape, but did not deny the story that her husband brutally forced himself on her during a fight, which is, in fact, rape.) By the way, what is stopping interviewers, when Trump makes unfounded rape charges against Bill Clinton, from pointing out that fact?

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Every day on cable news and elsewhere, I watch bewildered anchors, pundits, and reporters announce that Trump is going to continue to campaign on Bill Clinton’s real and fabricated misdeeds, as though they are confronting a force of nature, Hurricane Don, that they are powerless to stop. But there is plenty they can do. When he raises these charges, they can also remind him that the indefatigable “independent counsel” Kenneth Starr investigated the rape charges then and found no evidence to prosecute Clinton. I mean, really: Should the Sunday shows cover Trump’s Vince Foster lie as though there are “two sides”?

We’re told that Trump plans to throw these charges directly at Clinton’s face in the debates—again, as though moderators are powerless to adjudicate the terms of conflict. I’m not saying they should censor him from the start, but if he goes ad hominem, they ought to rein him in.

Oddly enough, the Clintons recently got support from their old enemy Kenneth Starr, who lamented in a public forum that Clinton’s presidency has been overshadowed by what he called the “unpleasantness” of his investigation, and praised him for his post-presidency philanthropy.

“His genuine empathy for human beings is absolutely clear,” Starr said. “It is powerful, it is palpable and the folks of Arkansas really understood that about him—that he genuinely cared. The ‘I feel your pain’ is absolutely genuine.”

Trump seems to feel no pain, or shame. But journalists do, or should. Vince Foster killed himself because of a crippling depression made worse by the anti-Clinton witch hunts of the media, particularly Travelgate, which he particularly lamented because an aide got reprimanded (he had asked his boss to put the blame on him instead.) Starr exonerated the Clintons of the trumped-up Travelgate charges, but that was four years after Foster died. We should all remember that Foster’s suicide note blamed “Wall Street Journal editors who lie without consequence.”

I don’t believe the media “created” Trump or gave him “too much” coverage in the last year. He’s the political, social, and psychological story of our time. But they’ve given him too much uncritical coverage, and they’ve seemed flummoxed to deal with a man who lies without conscience and humiliates his political rivals—Liddle Marco, Lyin’ Ted, Crooked Hillary—with glee. Rather than playing the helpless victims of Trump’s repeated con jobs, they need to up their game to do their jobs in the next six months.

Joan WalshTwitterJoan Walsh, The Nation’s national-affairs correspondent, is the author of What’s the Matter With White People? Finding Our Way in the Next America.

You're afraid, Ms. Walsh, that Donald Trump will drag America down the sewer? Maybe you haven't noticed that the U.S. has been circling the drain for a number of years. And we can thank the "business-as-usual" corporate elites and their paid-for elected officials for this state of affairs.

The 0.1% who run the country are frightened as hell that there may be president who is not under their control. I say, given the record, this can only be a good thing.

Yes, Trump has been acting as an obnoxious, bigoted, blow-hard, but so far his political record is clean. Unlike HRC. People want Trump because they are fed-up with corruption. For the corporate elites, the chickens are coming home to roost.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:25 pm

Moran seems to be a graduate of False Equivalency U, a division of Trump U.

Equating Trump's lies and insults with Clinton's behavior is wrong.

The GOP War on Women has many happy warriors. You should not be one of them.

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600131684says:

May 26, 2016 at 6:59 am

The media have decided over the past year to give the bulk of their coverage to only two different kinds of "sewer," one a "progressive" with references from big oil, big pharma, Kissinger, Cheney, and everyone else who cares about democracy in American, the other a "tough guy" who "says what he thinks" (interesting assumption simply because he's rude). Neither has the moral compass to run a junior high where they wouldn't be mocked and seen as the hypocrites they are. We've been in the sewer with the press for a year, and the Nation has more and more spent time in it, and started to say how lovely one sewer is (the "progressive"-seeming one) and how we should fall in line with it.
The vast unpopularity of the sewer people (Clinton, Trump) and their Nixonian "dirty-tricks" method of getting elected is very off-putting for most of the public, and there's only one way around for the media to stop dragging us down into the sewer as a nation. It's a bit late for that now, but you (Joan and your fellow columnists) might start writing about candidates (aka Senator Sanders) who have run defensible campaigns about issues. That, I suppose would be journalism. We had it in this country when I was growing up, and I think the democracy benefitted from it.
How about it? Why don't we give honest journalism one more shot?
Does the Times really believe that HRCs disingenuous answers (just say it, "lies") regarding her use of a personal server and lack of cooperation with the FBI ("should have been more forthcoming") "could be a problem for the campaign" because people "perceive her" as "untrustworthy." It is nice that they put it on the front page, but could they not simply report the news that the FBI feels HRC has stonewalled and lied to them over this issue, and that, as their report said, her behavior with her emails jeopardized the safety of the nation? Why do they have to write apologetics from her even when a government investigation is confirming what the electorate already feels about her.
And Joan Walsh is worried that Bernie supporters are going to drag HRCs popularity down, and that Trump will bring the campaign into the sewer? Is calculated dishonesty towards government investigators not in itself a bit sleazy. But we now have the false dichotomy of the gilded brass/gold sewer and the efficient sewer that "gets things done." Let's hope that California and the other 8 states correct that option, as has been happening in these latter primaries that the NYT and Nation do not write about, except dismissively.
We are not going to be forced to choose between one sewer or another unless we agree to it.

Big Oil, Big Defense, Big Banks, and Big Pharma keep writing the checks to Big Media, with the intent of promoting Trump. 3 Billion in free, unquestioned, and disproportionate promotion, and these recipients of massive trillion dollar subsidies, and tax avoidance schemes, compliment of our government have not stop payment on any of their "advertising" checks.
The new news is more damming however. It's that Trump is planning to go all the way to the White House, with his smearing ways, which would be cheating the American people of an honest hearing on his policies and objectives, as well as his tax returns. Complicity in this con is a bridge too far, for any "licensed" news corporation (and there are only six) in our democracy.

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Vicki Dunawaysays:

May 25, 2016 at 12:32 pm

The real story is why Republicans are getting on board with The Great Whiner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wYYX0mZsQA

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Bronwyn Fryersays:

May 25, 2016 at 9:33 am

I have worked as a professional journalist for nearly 30 years. The so-called journalists who do nothing but serve as an echo chamber for this demagogue, and who are enabling him, will be responsible for the disaster that follows if he is elected. Shame on them.

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Karin Eckvallsays:

May 25, 2016 at 2:58 pm

It's seems to me that the MSM is an echo chamber and scribe to anyone with power, including Hillary Clinton.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:26 pm

This is just not true. The MSM has not been friendly to Clinton.

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Peter Whitesays:

May 25, 2016 at 8:57 am

Three of the top four Nation stories today are about....wait for it, wait for it.....Trump.
The Nation should follow your advice, Joan, and stop letting the Donald dictate its coverage. Start with yourself, Joan.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:28 pm

MOre False Equivalence sillliness. Fair coverage of Trump is not the same as fawning.

Gee, why could anyone be confused about this?

Oh, GOP haters can't face facts.

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Steve Muratoresays:

May 25, 2016 at 12:36 am

"The media" doesn't cast the votes. The people who are being taken in by Drumpf aren't listening to "the media."

The last couple of days I've been receiving emails asking me to renew my subscription to The Nation.

NFW will I renew until Joan Walsh is unceremoniously CANNED and no longer works for or writes for, either as an employee or a contractor/freelancer.

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Steve Muratoresays:

May 25, 2016 at 6:03 pm

Obviously, Walsh's fans are out in force. So be it. However, despite their consternation, denial of the fact that Drumpf's base is not paying attention to corporate media denunciation of the presumptive Rep'lican nominee will sink Clinton.

It is not yet too late to nominate the only candidate who can beat Drumpf.

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Eric R Hippsays:

May 25, 2016 at 4:54 pm

Oh boy! That'll really scare 'em.

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Steve Muratoresays:

May 25, 2016 at 5:58 pm

Get over yourself. I'm not trying to scare anybody. Just taking a stand for what's right and just.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:45 pm

NO, you're taking a stand for misogyny and hatred.

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Eric R Hippsays:

May 26, 2016 at 12:45 am

It's called sarcasm. Taking a stand by not renewing your subscription ("NFW"). Wow. You are really sacrificing for your principles!

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Andy Moursundsays:

May 25, 2016 at 1:09 pm

You and the late Mike Gold would have made one hell of a team.

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600131684says:

May 25, 2016 at 12:18 am

The accusations of rape and forcible sexual contact never had their day in court as the women feared the general sexist culture of shaming the victim. The attacks on women by Bill, and on their reputations by Hillary, are adequately documented in Hitchens' "No One Left to Lie To," a book which, despite the Clinton's penchant for damage control through threat of litigation, has gone unchallenged and unmentioned by the Clinton camp. Strange, as it's so well sourced, and written by one of the only progressive writers of our period whose books will still be read in 20 years.
I'm afraid that Clinton and Trump are both sewer material, and a contest between them will be what both deserve.
Of course, that's forgetting that all the states haven't voted yet, and that the nomination, despite all of the DNC pressure and HRCs money, Bernie could still win. Then we'd have a bit of a contest of ideas. Not a brawl between the bigoted one percent and the "I have some perfectly lovely x friends" one percent, but a real argument about the nature of our democracy.
Obviously Trump would have a hard time following a principled argument, but Bernie has a directness in the way he addresses issues that ordinary people can understand, and the polls show that he trounces PT Barnum, unlike HRC, who is simply Cirque du Soleil celebrating Nancy Reagan's work against the AIDS epidemic. Does everyone remember that fine work?
There is only one non-sewer, non-toilet candidate, and he will beat Trump handily if he gets the chance to run against him. The Clintons were finished a long time ago in this campaign, regardless of who she/they ran against. Trump is simply the final insult, but you can't say they didn't ask for it in their general contempt for their natural constituency, and in their political decisions throughout their careers. They should have long ago retired into silence, as Blair, who was much less of a triangulator, has had the decency to do.
The neoliberal days are drawing to a close, and the sooner the better, and along with them the neocon days.
Feel the Bern!

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:31 pm

Another lie. Starr investigated these charges against B. Clinton extensively.

The GOP haters are trying to cover up Trump's rapes by phony charges against B. Clinton.

False equivalency is a refuge for GOP haters.

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Peter Bernhardtsays:

May 24, 2016 at 9:55 pm

Well, Joan, if it were just you who went down the sewer, I'd be ok with that. It would free up a spot for a genuinely progressive writer for this putatively progressive publication.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:44 pm

Peter's misogyny is showing.

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Lisa Brazzlesays:

May 25, 2016 at 12:14 am

Joan Walsh is one of the only writers at "The Nation" who doesn't traffic in Bernie fan fiction. And she takes a lot of abuse for it. I applaud her for giving a realistic take and I appreciate her knowledge. So thank you, Joan. The emo progs here in the comment section will be mad at whoever speaks any truth they don't care for, but I hope some of your ideas get through to the less intransigent. Others of us who are not as vocal see and appreciate you. You're never abusive to either candidate, unlike some of the more virulent writers here. Some of them are so apoplectic as to be cartoonish. It's hard to even take them seriously when they write such hyperbolic, easily debunked tommy rot.

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Steve Muratoresays:

May 25, 2016 at 12:38 am

Neither does she write anything with even a modicum of objectivity. If, as some have noted and neither Walsh nor The Nation has denied, Walsh's daughter is a Clinton campaign operative, she does far worse that writing fiction. She's got blatant and brazen conflict of interest and it shows in her overwhelming bias.

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Charlotte Ritchiesays:

May 25, 2016 at 12:51 am

Steve,
She's a "Correct the Record" troll, so don't waste your time trying to point out the truth. She'll just whack you over the head with a rhetorical cudgel, because the only way they can deal with the truth is by suppressing it.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:43 pm

Your 'truth' is based on lies and hatred.

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Steve Muratoresays:

May 25, 2016 at 6:00 pm

That cudgel neither bothers nor scares me. :)

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S Fauresays:

May 24, 2016 at 9:35 pm

Sorry Ms. Walsh, but this is a problem the Clinton campaign invited when they presumed to highlight Bill's role in a future HRC administration. Once Madame Secretary decided to flog Bill's performance on the economy and tell people how great his second act will be she opened the door to this.

Have you forgotten Cokie's Law from her "It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, it's out there" formulation? Or were you in a coma or something.

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Robert Smithsays:

May 25, 2016 at 3:47 am

To be fair, Trump brought in Bill before he was mentioned as having a role, and he doesn't need Bill having an explicit role in a Hillary Clinton administration in order for him to bring Bill and his exploits into the discussion.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:43 pm

The GOP haters cannot be fair.

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S Fauresays:

May 24, 2016 at 9:38 pm

Yet another predictable unforced error by team HRC. You must be so proud.

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William Cashsays:

May 24, 2016 at 8:54 pm

The media has already made its choice and they are in the sewer with him. I saw Chuck Todd defending Trump statements and the media in general is giving him complete leeway to say whatever he wants to . They will not call him on it.

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Robert Smithsays:

May 25, 2016 at 3:51 am

The media constantly says that Trump made statements against "immigrants" or "Mexican immigration". They aren't allowed to say "illegal aliens" or "illegal immigrants" but they could at least used their preferred term of "undocumented immigrants".

So I don't see the media in favor of Trump if they can't even use the correct term for his remarks in his announcement speech.

And I certainly see far far more articles denigrating Trump than I do supporting him. So many that they dwarf any comment by Chuck Todd.

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Francis Louis Szotsays:

May 24, 2016 at 4:28 pm

What? Joan Walsh wrote another column? Who cares. What is up with Trump's hair in the photo on top of this article. It looks kinda' normal. Where is the orange glow? Why isn't his skin some shade of tangerine too? Has this one been Photoshopped to make him look like he didn't fall asleep in his tanning bed again?

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:42 pm

Your misogyny is showing.

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Patrick Mullaghysays:

May 24, 2016 at 4:21 pm

When Ann Coulter is now a regular on Hardball and CM promises he'll have her on when her book is published and, just last night, prompted her to say (actually said it for her) that Bill Clinton has a venereal disease, it's time to tune out...

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Patrick Mullaghysays:

May 25, 2016 at 2:20 am

Except, I should add, when Joan Walsh is on. Then it's worth watching!

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Charlotte Ritchiesays:

May 24, 2016 at 4:01 pm

Now Joan Walsh is worried about the media because they've given Trump too much uncritical coverage, yet throughout this entire primary year, she and other Hillary supporters have remained stone-cold silent in the face of unabashedly biased anti-Bernie, pro-Hillary coverage across the spectrum of corporate media outlets (NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, CNN, LA Times, and even PBS/NPR, Salon, the Daily Kos, Slate, etc.). This is not a conspiracy theory; it's been well documented by many unbiased media watchdog groups. This, on top of the assumption in this article that Hillary is already the Democratic nominee. Oh, the irony, that if indeed she does become the nominee, it will only because of the media and DNC bias, which have either blacked-out or lied about Bernie since he announced his candidacy last May, while giving a pass to Hillary on her record: her Wall Street and other corporate behemoth speeches, her hawkishness, in particular her vote on the Iraq War, her poor judgment on Libya, etc., her pro-death penalty stance, her flip flops on guns, gay marriage, the TPP, the Keystone pipeline, etc. The Clintons have been in power way too long, and their tentacles reach into every region of the highest echelons of the 1%: they run the Democratic party, and the MSM is in their pocket, probably terrified of Clinton revenge should she win the presidency. Yeah, it's sexist for Trump to blame Hillary for Bill's predatorial actions, but Hillary sure pulls out the "husband card" when she needs his power. She said in Kentucky that she would put "Bill Clinton in charge of the economy" to get votes; she sent him on her behalf today, to see Governor Brown of CA, probably to twist his arm to endorse her. She uses him when it suits her, but calls it sexism when others invoke her in connection to his past deeds.

Donald Trump has so much material that he has yet to produce, that he is going to have a field day, and sadly, Hillary will probably lose the general election. Remember Joan, that "Republicans fall in line, but Democrats fall in love." Hillary has the highest unfavorable ratings of any candidate other than Trump. What a false choice!.

I'm sorry, but there are still nine states/territories that have yet to vote, and one of those is the most delegate rich state in the country, California. There are also: the Virgin Islands, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Mexico, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC. Obviously these voters are not happy that journalists like Joan Walsh don't believe that their votes matter. Bernie does.

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Peter Ehrhornsays:

May 24, 2016 at 3:32 pm

I agree that the mass media needs to up their game and to do their jobs in the next six months. Sadly they probably won't. With both candidates, the MM have been incompetent. With the Donald they gave him unlimited free publicity without pushing for answers. With Hillary, they never pushed her on her lessons from the Iraq war and her times as Secretary of state.

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Peter Bernhardtsays:

May 24, 2016 at 10:00 pm

Upping their game when the only choice left is the two worst candidates ever proffered on the American electorate? That'd be kinda like shuttin' the barn doors after the horses have all run out, wouldn't it?

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:42 pm

False Equivalency is the last resort of the GOP apologists.

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Steve Muratoresays:

May 25, 2016 at 12:41 am

It's still not too late to nominate the candidate who actually can beat Drumpf. And that candidate is NOT Hillary.

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Robert Smithsays:

May 25, 2016 at 3:57 am

Once Hillary Clinton is nominated her standing in the polls will improve from the built-in advantage given to Democrats. There are a lot of people saying "another candidate" or "undecided" right now and I think most of them are Sanders supporters, versus #NeverTrump.

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Michael Poprawasays:

May 24, 2016 at 2:14 pm

Poor Joan, she seems so confused and clueless, a one dance pony, she would be better suited as a gossip columnist. Apparently she takes the media at face value and doesn't understand why they're not fair, while she spews her mindless surface level politics. All That time at MSNBC, the mainstream Democratic version of Fox news, has apparently left her unable to discern any social, economic or political realities beyond the most banal surface level illusions. Maybe some of the truly intelligent and insightful political commentators at the Nation could explain some of the harsh realities of the Neo-liberal nightmare we live in and she unwittingly champions. She's like a beautician treating a leper, assuring the unfortunate that if she just hides a couple of her favorite sores all will be better.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:37 pm

The GOP War on Women has many happy warriors.

Of course, the GOP sewer is the fault of Obama, Clinton, Warren, etc.

Of course.

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Charlie Pricesays:

May 24, 2016 at 1:21 pm

The Clintons brought themselves and the country into the sewer. Castigating the media (and Trump) for turning on the lights seems like placing blame on the wrong parties. Personally, I agree that attention should be directed elsewhere. Specifically, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Honduras.

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Peter Ehrhornsays:

May 24, 2016 at 3:38 pm

How silly. How have the Clintons brought the country into the sewer? At least Bill Clinton did what republicans only said they would do. He actually submitted balanced budgets to congress. While Bill Clinton was far from perfect, this country enjoyed economic growth under his presidency something that ended as soon as he was replaced by republicans.

The media needs to be criticized as it doesn't dive into the issues, it only reports fights and exaggerated conflict.

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Francis Louis Szotsays:

May 24, 2016 at 5:04 pm

Bill Clinton set the stage for the economic depression that finally blossomed under George Bush Jr. Clinton destroyed the entire concept of regulation and endorsed the flood of corruption and lawlessness for business and the financial industry. He appointed simpletons who were disciples of the absurd Ayne Rand philosophy, like Alan Greenspan, and he signed multiple “free trade” debacles that literally paid for USA corporations to massively move millions of jobs overseas. I see him as a traitor. Just because Bush continued the Clinton agenda, and the collapse occurred under his administration, does not remove the fact that Clinton is just as responsible for its happening. Even though many more astute outsiders saw the disaster coming, it took seven years for the cumulative damage to finally implode and produce the ruin that Clinton initiated with his policies while in Office. Clinton and Bush were the bookends that defined and produced the ongoing national nightmare. O’Bummer is the buffoon who has ineptly overseen the continuing decline, while he prepares for his next gigs as a standup comic, and a Wall Street consultant, to provide the excuse for the back-loaded bribes to be delivered once he finishes his “service”.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:38 pm

It's ridiculous to blame the Clintons for the messes that Bush Junior created with his tax cuts for the rich, his illegal wars, etc.

The GOP haters are so desperate, it's laughable.

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Robert Smithsays:

May 25, 2016 at 3:54 am

Watch the movie "Inside Job". The de-regulation of the banking system started with the banking system and they pointed the finger at multiple administrations, starting with Reagan. I think only the older Bush was spared.

And of course, the 2008 meltdown happened in the last year of George W. Bush. He had 7 years to correct any wrong done by Clinton but he was a "de-regulationist" of an even higher order than Clinton.

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Robert Smithsays:

May 25, 2016 at 3:55 am

should have been-> ﻿ "Watch the movie "Inside Job". The de-regulation of the banking system started with Reagan administration and they pointed the finger at multiple administrations."

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Leila Walshsays:

May 24, 2016 at 10:32 pm

Hello. Clinton left $5 trillion in the bank when he left. Bush and his cronies pissed it away with tax cuts.

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Leslie Roedersays:

May 24, 2016 at 12:45 pm

That's right Joan. Just like they were able to control the narrative of their their preferred candidate, Cinton over Bernie, they can control the narrative between Trump and Clinton. The Media nearly single handedly pushed Clinton on us. Even with her celebrity status and world fame, she still needed the media to get the job. So yeah, the media can do the same in the second round. If she is in fact the nominee. But then again, you shouldn't underestimate voters and treat them like they are stupid. Like you do Joan.

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John Krogmansays:

May 26, 2016 at 3:40 pm

Calling Dr. Freud! It is stupid to blame the GOP mess on a female journalist.